Then There Was You
by Harika
Summary: A Blacksmith recalls the best years of his life, a Knight and Izlude Town
1. Chapter 1

Contents of story have changed. This is the newer version of it

**Then There Was You**

The small chapel was decorated with white ribbons and faint pink flower petals. Other people, friends and family gathered around the small room. I wore my best black tuxedo as I sat quietly on the varnished wooden pew at the very back waiting to be called upon. The morning breeze blew against the back of my neck making me shiver a bit.

It was the month of November and nature was getting ready for the snow. It has also been almost half a year since I've been back from Alberta and things have definitely changed during the seasons...

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There you go, my revised version and a title!


	2. Chapter 2

**Then There Was You**

I had left Izlude for almost three years to train myself as a Blacksmith in Alberta. I have of course tried to keep contact with most of my friends back in Izlude. There's this one friend I always wrote to. She had been my friend since forever and she had taught me many things in life, one of them was to love. I could never gather up my courage and tell her what I felt for she only saw me as a brother she never had.

I was assigned to deliver something to Prontera one day by a higher ranking Blacksmith. This was a good opportunity to surprise my friends back in Izlude. For sure they'll be glad to see me after all those years.

As I arrived at the docks, I saw my best friend sitting on the old bench reading his Bible.

"Kairos," I called out to him, slinging my duffle bag over my shoulder and picking up my delivery. Kairos was an Acolyte, for how long? I don't remember. He looked at me curiously, he hadn't recognized me. I walked up to him, as I did I saw his eyes widen with shock.

"Damn," he said. "Andrew? I didn't recognize you back there!" True, I looked very different from three years ago.

Kai walked me around Izlude, nothing much had changed. It was still the same Izlude I knew. One of the reasons of my visit was also to see her again, to gaze into her deep blue eyes, pretending to listen like I used to do.

"Do you know where...?"

"Ah, she's not here right now," Kairos said reading my mind.

"Oh," came my reply.

"Don't you worry, she'll be back tomorrow. I think she's in Payon right now," Kairos said.

Nothing else was said about her after that. Kairos offered me to stay at his place in Prontera since my old house was sold. Kairos was a very talkative fellow. He told me things that happened through the three years of my absence and indeed many interesting things had happened.

The night sky fell upon us as we were walking back from delivering my package and buying some of my stuff. Kairos lived in a house with two other occupants. We shared the same living room, the same kitchen, the same bath. The other occupants were not that good to see me, I couldn't blame them. I just occupy their valuable space.

I couldn't sleep that night. I couldn't help but think of her and how she would look like after two and a half years. I got up from my bed, opened the window and lit a cigar. I just stared out at the starry dark sky smoking about two more sticks before deciding to go to sleep.

I welcomed the morning, I was seeing her today. I looked around the room and saw Kairos helping himself to my cigarettes. It was a filthy habit, but we weren't in the age restriction anymore.

"I'm a bit nervous," I confessed as we were walking down the path to Izlude.

"Don't be," he said. "It's not like you haven't seen her once."

It was partly true; I haven't seen her once since I left. But he did have a point, it was like I wasn't her friend at all, my nervousness was uncalled for.

We arrived at her house where her father, a high-ranking official at the Prontera Chivalry welcomed us. He told us that his daughter had not yet come back from Payon, but it was soon that she would. Kairos and I waited outside for her return and it wasn't long before she came home, but she wasn't alone.

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Hopefully that was alright. See you next chapter.


	3. Chapter 3

**Then There Was You**

She walked towards us hand in hand with another Knight. We stood up from the curb and greeted her as she approached. My heart fell seeing her with this Knight. She said hello to Kai, then gave me a puzzled look. I just smiled at her; she was more beautiful than that of three years ago. Kairos had told her my identity and like Kai she was surprised.

I too was surprised when she moved to embrace me. In my shock I didn't hug her back.

"Andrew," her voice was sweeter than what I remembered hearing. "You've changed," she said.

"You too, you're more beautiful," I replied with a gentle smile. I noticed the Knight shifted and stared at me with dagger eyes.

She must have noticed him shift because she introduced me to the man. Damn. Ralph, the Knight was her boyfriend. She was taken. Kairos and I stayed longer, for my part I wanted to leave. I didn't want to see this Ralph again.

I had left Izlude and Prontera for another two months in Alberta again; my training was yet to be finished. Many days passed since then. Izlude was now a memory and so was she. I had to move on. To forget what held me back all this time.

After my two months in Alberta I went to Al de Baran via Geffen. It was an expensive trip warping from place to place, but what was money to me? Al de Baran was a very grand City, a certain sense of elegance enfold each blue roof top and green pine.

The town square was crowded with traders, buying and selling their goods. Ah, a nice place to sell some of mine. I sat down near a lamppost and opened a shop selling rares and potions when this Monk approached.

"Hey," he said. I could only see his figure because he stood against the light. The sun's glare made it hard for me to see his face.

"What?" I replied rather rudely.

"Drew," he called out my name. Somehow this Monk knew me. I furrowed my brow and squinted at the stranger. Who was he? "Goddamn Drew, don't you recognize me?"

His voice was oddly familiar. I stood up from my spot and fixed my eyes on him. I burst out laughing; other people looked at me strangely as if I were a sicko who would just laugh out loud all of a sudden. The black hair and his crimson eyes, it was Kairos the Acolyte.

"Kairos," I said running a hand through my hair unconsciously. "Monk, eh?"

"Yeah buddy," he said placing an arm around me. "Close up your shop and I'll tour you around."

"You've been around here for how long?" I asked as we passed by the Kafra Head Quarters.

"Long enough," he replied without answering my question. Though, his answer was yet to be clarified when he introduced me to some of his friends in Al de Baran and his _guild_.

Their guild house was as elegant as the town and I was welcome to stay. Kairos introduced me to their guild master, a Priest by the name of Quinn. She was happy to have me in the guild house as long as I followed house rules.

I shared a room with an Assassin, he wasn't bothered having me around. In fact, if he didn't act so dark and mysterious then he'd be as talkative and lively as Kairos.

Three days passed and I was still staying in the guild house. It was afternoon and I was sharpening my axes out at the weaponry when Kairos called me. He looked panicky. He told me to arm myself then disappeared. For what? I soon found out when a loud booming voice yelled, _SEIGE!_

The guild house was being invaded. I couldn't let this happen; I couldn't just stand here and watch them fight alone. I took my axe and went out to protect this new home I found.

I saw the Knights and Crusaders of the guild fending off incoming invaders and some few meters behind them were the Hunters shooting arrows in the air as Dancers and Bards helped in casting a spell making the Hunters' attacks stronger.

"_Extremity Fist_!" I heard Kairos call out before making his deadly move. I could see that the front line was weakening; the Knights couldn't handle such force any longer. Blood rushed to my head as I charged and struck a resounding Hammer Fall at the invading guilds. Most were stunned, which gave a good opportunity for the Hunters to dart their arrows at them.

During supper I ate and drank to my heart's content. We saved the guild house from being taken and as a sign of gratitude Quinn offered me a spot in the guild which I openly accepted. Bottles of booze came our way as Kairos and I had a drinking contest. The Monk was a novice compared to me. He fell unconscious at his third bottle...

I had gone to my room after depositing my best friend at his. I lay quietly, my head resting on my arms, staring at the ceiling when the Assassin arrived. Crow usually said a few words to me since my arrival, but I could sense that he wanted to say more.

"Andrew, right?" He said. His icy-blue eyes fixed on me with a deadly stare. Don't kill me.

"Yeah?"

"The Guild Master has been coming up to me lately," he said quietly. "And has been asking a lot of things about you."

"What about me?" I asked coolly.

"I think she likes you..."

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Hm... More to come! Ah, I am also working on an illustrated version of this story. Meaning I'm drawing up a manga for this. I'll let you in if ever I finish.


	4. Chapter 4

expected mush coming up, but don't expect it to be good... I don't like writing stuff as such

**Then There Was You**

I never expected that someone would like me nor watch me from afar. I had now acquired a different image for my guild master; she had filled the void of my emptiness. I had someone else to think of.

It was a few weeks later from when Crow had talked to me when I started seeing Quinn. Crow was right. She did have an interest on me. Kairos soon found out that I had moved on and I was seeing the Guild Master.

Many weeks passed since then and I have been risking training myself at the Yuno Fields. _Tonight_, I thought. _Tonight, I'll tell her_. Quinn had been something special to me and it was time to tell her that.

As I expected Crow was as lively as Kairos was. He had opened up to me the night after he had told me about Quinn. He and Kairos were very much alike. He wished me luck as I left the room to fetch Quinn from the garden. Kairos was out somewhere in the city.

Her pretty face was illuminated by the moonlight as she waited for me just outside the guild house. The chilly air was an excuse for me to place an arm around her as we walked into town.

I had treated her to a candle-lit dinner and a gondola ride around the canals of Al de Baran. And as the night was about to end I called her upon one of the small fountains near the Clock Tower.

"What is it?" Her sweet voice echoed in my head.

"Er," I stuttered a bit. Quinn placed her hand on mine to comfort me, but instead making me more nervous. "Quinn," I continued, "you've been something special to me these past weeks." I looked at her emerald eyes looking back at me. I leaned forward and kissed her. She did not move backwards nor hit me. She just closed her eyes and kissed me back. Time seemed to stop as I held her in my arms. The stars being our witness as we kissed under them.

Cough. I froze as I looked around for the source of the disturbance. It was Kairos. He had just come from the Tool Dealer, finishing a few errands from some of our guild mates.

"Good evening," he said casually then, walked away. I swore I saw a devilish smile on his face as he turned to leave.

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I woke up the next day inside a grand room. This definitely was not Crow's and my room. It seemed too elegant to be ours. I looked around and saw Quinn by the window looking out at the garden.

"Good morning," I greeted from the covers of her soft bed as I leaned against my elbows.

"You're awake," she said as she approached me. "Had a nice sleep?" She asked.

I instinctively pulled up the covers when I noticed that I had nothing on. "Yeah," I replied rather sheepishly. Quinn sat down by my side and kissed me lightly on the lips.

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Crow had noticed my absence during that evening, but didn't question me about it. Kairos probably knew what happened already, he had ways of knowing what happened between Quinn and me.

As the month of October came to a close I remembered that it had been almost half a year since I last saw her. I sat alone on one of the garden benches admiring the sunset, November was coming around. The cool winter breeze brushed against my face as I recalled some of the things that occurred a few months back. This was the first time since I arrived in Al de Baran that I thought about her. I admit that I missed her company.

"Andrew!" It was Kairos. He ran towards me holding a piece of paper on one hand looking rather pale.

"What?" I asked. Kairos took a deep breath before giving the paper to me. I took the note and read it to myself and as I did I felt the color drain from my face.

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Ha, there. Another short chapter added! I'd like to take this moment to thank everyone who has read this story and.. those who have reviewed it! Ah, and news about the comics.. I have been working some few sleepless nights trying to think of how to draw this and that. Heh, but I promise you that the Blacksmith would be very good-looking! drool.. Hm.. and so will Kairos!! Ngzz... See you next chapter!


	5. Chaper 5

**Then There Was You**

The cold November breeze blew against the back of Andrew's neck making him shiver a bit. He wore his best and only black tuxedo, his blond hair had been fixed neatly to suit his formal attire.

"Hey," said Kairos as he approached his friend bringing him back to reality. It was just yesterday that they had left Al de Baran for Prontera.

Andrew looked up from his reverie at his best friend, standing in front of him. Although, he had worn his best clothes which would have complimented his handsome features, Andrew had looked extremely tired. He had puffy eyes that made him look like he had wept and a sulking appearance to him.

"Mm?" He replied to Kairos weakly.

"How are you?" the friend asked sincerely. He sat beside Andrew and fixed his deep blue eyes at his friend.

Silence had occupied the two's conversation. For a long time, Andrew kept silent and back to hi reverie remembering something of importance. Then he spoke in a low voice, "I want to see her now." He stood up from his seat so quick as if a shock of electricity passed through the pew making him jump up to his feet.

"Are you sure?" Kairos need not know his friend's answer, he knew what was going to happen.

Andrew hadn't looked back as he slowly paced himself towards the altar of the chapel. Every pew was lined with white laces and the aisle littered with flower petals, the people inside the chapel too were dressed up to their best. It would seem as a beautiful wedding except for the part that most guests were grieving. Each face saddened by this terrible loss. He had reached the white casket by the altar. The cover was opened for friends and relatives to see what lay inside. She was dressed up in a long white gown, flowers by her side and a tiara that added a delicate touch to her beauty. She looked as if she was just sleeping, every feature was peaceful and a soft smile lingered around her lips. Andrew examined his friend's dead body. The wounds were well erased by the makeup that was placed.

Asleep. She's just sleeping. Andrew desperately thought. Sleeping. His friend's death had affected him so much. "Pauline…" he whispered desperately to her dead body. Quinn had just been a poor substitute for Pauline, all along, he was longing for Pauline to love him back. But now was too late. She was dead.

He went back to his seat beside Kairos wiping a few tears as he made it back. Kairos had placed his hand on his best friend's shoulder to comfort the grieving man…

* * *

A mass was held before they buried the casket. The sun was now half-way up in the sky, its golden rays created the silver linings around the clouds. The procession started right after the mass, they had lifted the casket to its respective grave at the burial ground behind the chapel. Andrew was one of the men who had helped in moving the casket about. 

The day was hot, but the wind was cold. Andrew kept shivering due to the chilly breeze as he and the others gathered around her grave. As the casket was lowered, the Priest said a few words before the first handful of dirt was thrown in by Pauline's father…

"… We shall never know the glory of her birth, but we shall always remember the glory of her death." The Priest then closed his book and gave a small nod to Pauline's father instructing him to say a few words before his daughter would be completely covered with dirt.

"Pauline will forever be remembered in our hearts. She had sacrificed her life for the safety of the masses. She was a perfect daughter and friend." He scooped a handful of dirt from the ground and threw it in the six-foot deep grave, then looked away as other men armed with their shovels began to fill up the grave.

* * *

After the burial, Andrew stayed an hour more when every one had left. He kneeled down beside the headstone bearing Pauline's name and the words inscribed "_Requiescant in Pace._" 

"Pauline," he whispered her name as he remained kneeling beside the grave. "I have lots to tell you. I guess it's too late for us to catch up with each other's business, huh?" He was talking to a gravestone, but it did not matter to him if he had looked like an idiot. He did not care, it was for Pauline anyway. Andrew told stories about his last visit to Izlude, that time when he had met Ralph with her and how jealous he had gotten of him. He told about life in Al de Baran, and about Quinn, how she had been a poor substitute for her. All this time he was searching for her acceptance, afraid of rejection he left for another city or town. His stubbornness caused him something unforgivable. He hadn't once professed his feelings to Pauline, and now that she was dead, there was no way that he could.

The cold air brushed on the back of his neck for the third time and made his hair stand on end. He noticed as the cool breeze blew about, the flower petals that lingered the gravestone were also being blown along with the wind. Andrew looked up after a while into the distance where he saw Pauline. She was emanating some kind of white light around her as she stood there under a tree. The white gown and tiara made it easy for Andrew to realize that the person was indeed Pauline. She was inviting him to come to him. Andrew had not believed what he had seen until he had approached the woman. As he gently caressed her cheek he couldn't help but cry. He buried himself in her embrace. Was this real?

* * *

Later that day, Kairos had found Andrew motionless near Pauline's grave. He was alive, but he was not able to recognize the people or the things around him. Some say that he had gone mad with extreme depression over Pauline's death. Others say that his soul had left his body and followed Pauline's into the next world… 

The cold breeze blew at the back of Kairos' neck as he visited his friends' graves. It had been a year since, both of them now dead.

Kairos had placed a bouquet of white flowers on both graves as he readied to leave. "Rest in Peace my friends."

December was approaching fast and nature was getting ready for the snow…

* * *

**A/N:** Okay, so that ending sucked. As far as I'm concerned this fic is done. At last and after that long writer's block. I don't know when I'll be writing again… Heh. Not soon. New lessons are up and I have to pass the exams at the end of the school year… then I'm off to college. Lolz. Yeah, if you had noticed, I changed the POV. I got tired of writing at 1st person, it's not my style… I was experimenting. Lolz. Well, if I'm up to writing again I might write about another love crap story again. Heh. (Oh no.. not again) Okay, see you again! 

Kalikasan (aka Kali)


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